For us Tejanos “Quienes Somos” is an important question.
By: Felix Alvarado
To understand the question, we must understand what got us here, what we have in common, and what makes us different. In defining ourselves we must know, (1), how we are perceived by the general population and (2), how we perceive ourselves. As a Colombiano and Venezolano told me, “Everyone thinks we are Mexicanos”.
The first Europeans to visit Texas were French. They visited a land that was claimed by Spain. Spain became alarmed at the presence of the French and immediately began the settlement of Texas. That was the birth of the Tejano. Spaniards were divided into peninsulares and criollos. At the top of the social hierarchy were the peninsulares, they were Spaniards born in Spain. Next were the criollos, Spaniards born on this side of the world. Next, we're varying degrees of Mestizos. Mestizos were people of mixed Spanish and Indian. Mestizos are ranked from very light to very dark skin complexion. The lighter Mestizos were bestowed higher social status.
The same social arrangement existed in Texas. Tejanos were descendants of the original Spanish Colonial Texas. Texas was a part of Colonial Spain for over 300 years. It was a part of Mexico for 15 years, a part of the Republic of Texas and then a part of the State of Texas. Nowhere along the way have Tejanos lost their identity. Tejanos will tell you how many generations they go back on the fathers’ or mothers’ side.
We can define culture as group identity. Group Identity is something that is passed on from generation to generation. Group identity is a standard by which we measure ourselves. This is what we mean when we say, “birds of a feather flock together.” We prefer to hang out with people that we have something in common with. It may have been race once upon a time. Today, it is more social characteristics.
Culture is necessary for healthy human development. Our children when they go to school they must feel like they are part of a collective group. Our neighborhood, our school, our church, they all bring us together. We acquire values that we share when we join an organized group. The best example of this is the military. When you join the military, you go through an indoctrination process called basic training. The indoctrination makes you want to be part of that group. The purpose of the group is to work together to achieve a common objective. In Spanish we say: “dime con quien andas y te dire quien eres.” Tell me who you are with, and I will tell you who you are.
We Tejanos have a culture that is uniquely ours. What makes us unique is that as you travel around Texas you will see architecture that is uniquely ours. Presidio La Bahia, San Fernando Cathedral and the missions in San Antonio are all Spanish architecture. You will notice that most of the rivers have Spanish names. One of the Six Flags over Texas is the Spanish flag. Spanish is still spoken by many. When asked what race we are, some respond Hispanic, Latino, Mexican, Mexican American, Chicano and others. Rarely does anyone answer Tejano. Yet, that is what we are. Chicano has an unknown origin. Hispanic originates from the word Hispania. Hispania is what the Romans called the Iberian Peninsula which includes Spain and Portugal. The word Hispanic was coined by Spain to identify those countries where Spanish was spoken.
In 1821, Mexico declared its independence from Spain. Mexico claimed all lands that were once claimed by Spain, West of Texas to the Pacific Ocean. In 1836, Texas declared its independence from Mexico. A boundary dispute between Mexico and the United States was settled by the Mexican American War. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, settled the citizenship status of those people that lived in mostly southern Texas. These people were called Tejanos. Mexico and the United States agreed: that people living in Texas would decide which country they wanted to live in. Those that wanted to be Mexican would cross the Rio Grande into Mexico. Those that wanted to be Tejano would stay on this side of the river and become American citizens. It was agreed that Tejanos would be classified as White.
There is no controversy as to what America did to the Native Americans and other people. America did some things that were not palatable however, there was nobody around that could stop America. Mass killings have always been a part of history and they continue. America was settled in the East Coast and expanded westward rapidly. The European settlers left their country because they wanted to get rid of the king and church. The territory In America was open to the taking. Settlers could own land in America something they could not do in Europe. All the settlers had to do was kill a few Indians. It may be ugly even not right but that's just the way it was.
Texas was easier to conquer because Texas was already settled. Tejanos were eager to get rid of there their Mexican conquerors. They joined the Texas Revolution. As far as California, is concerned, by the time of the Mexican American War America already had possession of California.
Remember. Elections have consequences. Whoever you elect to office, if you elect a warmonger, that person has absolute authority during the duration of their term. You get what you vote for. If you don't vote, then you go along with the majority.
The saying goes that history is written by the winner. If you compare the Texas revolution to the Oregon Trail, you will see that the Texas Revolution is greatly overblown. We Tejanos had laid the foundation for the takeover of Texas by Sam Houston and company. The Alamo was no great military triumph or defeat.
(The Indians of Texas, from prehistoric to modern times, University of Texas Press. 1993)